Super Mario 64

An all-time classic favorite of mine, Super Mario 64 is considered one of the most important and revolutionary milestones in gaming as it introduced many aspects of 3D gaming that are still being used today and showed what 3D gaming is capable of.

• Analog Controls: This was the first ever 3D game to feature full 360 movement that allowed the player to move in almost any way they can.
• Controllable Camera: Majority of the cameras in games at the time were either locked in place or just simply followed the player, but here the player has (almost) completely control over where the camera looks.

Due to hardware limitations, the Nintendo 64 didn't produce enough environments in 3D to have as many levels as the previous Mario games. Nintendo solved this problem by instead making the worlds bigger and having multiple objectives in them. These worlds are open ended, allowing you to explore and obtain the Power Stars in whatever order you want, with a few exceptions. Instead of having a fluid and native 60 FPS output, the game runs only at 30 FPS for no apparent reason. Fortunately, the issue was fixed in the PC port.

While the game is still universally considered a milestone of video game history and very playable to this day, (especially in comparison to lots of contemporary games that transferred to 3D) the game's age is very telling nowadays thanks to many of its technical achievements becoming the norm.

• Perhaps the biggest problem is that the camera is primitive, clunky, and often won't cooperate in closed areas. This was because 3D gaming was still new and developers still didn't quite know how to make camera controls at the time and because the Nintendo 64 controller only has one Analog Stick, so the camera has to be controlled with the C buttons.
• When Mario gets hit by fire, he runs uncontrollably for a few seconds which can cause him to fall into a bottomless pit.
• Slopes will often make Mario slide down either to his death or to the bottom of the stage out of your control, and this is made worse by most inclined surfaces being treated as a slope. This is especially problematic in Tiny-Huge Island since Mario will often get stuck in the sliding animation while trying to climb the mountain and slide to his death.
• Unlike other Mario games, the provided power-ups are time-limited. This was remedied in the remake and later 3D Mario games which allowed players to keep the power-ups unless they got hit as per tradition.
• Being a launch title for the N64, the game doesn't take full advantage of the console's hardware, leading to some rubbery, almost-transparent textures that give the models a stretched appearance. Coupled with the camera allowing full view in most directions, you can easily see through parts of the models.
  • All the character models look slightly hideous due to being so low-poly and often strangely textured compared to modern-day appearances. Especially Bowser, who looks almost nothing like his official artwork.

When you boot up the game, you're greeted by an interactive 3D model of Mario's head to which you can mess around with and stretch. In addition Mario has a lot of new moves that take advantage of the 3D setting such as long jumping, wall jumping, back jump, and ground pound. You can also use Princess Toadstool's castle to practice Mario's new move set in a safe place. And he now has a health bar which can be replenished by grabbing coins. However, Luigi is neither seen nor mentioned in the game despite appearing in the previous Mario games. Although, a leak at Nintendo proved that Luigi was going to be in the game for the second player for co-op, but this was scrapped.

This game also introduces three new power-ups.

• Wing Cap - When wearing a Wing Cap, Mario becomes Wing Mario and gains the ability to fly and slow his falls (by holding A), like with the Super Leaf and Cape Feather from previous games. Mario can begin flying by performing a Triple Jump (which can be done in place in that form) or by getting shot from a cannon. The item can be obtained only from a red ! Block, which will become solid upon Mario hitting the red Cap Switch in the Tower of the Wing Cap course. The wings last for 60 seconds before wearing off. Despite being an interesting take on a power-up, The Wing Cap, however, is terribly finicky to control in the air, even with the jetplane-like maneuvering.
• Vanish Cap - When worn, it turns Mario into Vanish Mario for 20 seconds. In this form, Mario can walk through enemies, metal fences, and certain walls. To use a Vanish Cap, Mario must first press the blue Cap Switch in the course Vanish Cap Under the Moat, which activates the Vanish Cap-holding blue Cap Blocks.
• Metal Cap - My favorite one, it is usually found in green ! Boxes, which will become solid upon the player pressing the green Cap Switch in the Cavern of the Metal Cap course. The Metal Cap turns Mario into Metal Mario, making him invulnerable and extremely heavy. Because of this, he can no longer make very high or long jumps, cannot swim, and will sink faster in quicksand. However, Metal Mario is also unaffected by toxic clouds and cannot drown. The effect lasts for 20 seconds.

This game also pioneered the Collect-a-thon genre which consists of 3D platforming games that require a set goal of collectables be met in order to beat the game. The main collectable of the game is the Power Stars. There is a total of 120 Power Stars, 15 of them are Secret Stars are either found in secret areas or held by Toads, and at least 70 Power Stars are required to beat the game. They're all scattered throughout the various courses, most of which pertain to a mission. Power Stars appear either in plain sight or after the player completes a mission objective, such as defeating a boss. The only exception to this are the Red Coin (in which there are eight Red Coins in each course, and collecting all of them causes a Power Star to appear over a shadowy Star Marker) and 100 Coin stars (in which collecting 100 coins in each course will net Mario a hidden Power Star). Speaking of, 100 Coin Stars are rather tedious to obtain and if you die, you are kicked out of the level which means that you have to start from scratch each time you die. While this isn't a big issue in most stages since they're often small and open, it is very problematic in Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride since both of those stages are very long, linear, and it's very easy to die in them. And some stages have little more than 100 coins to collect, such as Jolly Roger Bay with its 103 coins and Dire, Dire Docks with its 101 coins.

Since you only need 70 Power Stars (80 in the remake) to reach the final boss, you can just ignore the missions that you don't like. Speaking of which, there are 15 different courses to explore that are entered via paintings. Each has 7 Power Stars to acquire, totaling 105 Power Stars.

1. Bob-omb Battlefield: A grassy battleground of a war being waged between the black-colored Bob-ombs, led by the Big Bob-omb, and the pink-colored Bob-omb Buddies.
2. Whomp's Fortress: The stronghold home of the Whomp race and its leader, the Whomp King. It would later make a comeback in Super Mario Galaxy.
3. Jolly Roger Bay: The course is a large lake with several rocks, platforms, and, yup yup yup, a pirate ship. It gets its name from "Jolly Roger," a name given to typical pirate flags with skulls and crossbones.
4. Cool, Cool Mountain: As the name implies, it's centered around going up and down a mountain that comprises of a log cabin (which you can enter via chimney a la Santa Claus) and skiing lift (I hope you're prepared for the Olympics).
5. Big Boo's Haunt: This one centers around a haunted mansion that is filled with mostly Boos.
6. Hazy Maze Cave: An underground cave with many paths and bottomless pits, as well as a large cavern that is home to a giant sea dragon named Dorrie.
7. Lethal Lava Land: A volcanic course that has many platforms situated over a pool of lava with a volcano in the center of the course.
8. Shifting Sand Land: This one is my favorite of them all. A desert course with several sand dunes, quicksand, and an ancient Egyptian-esque pyramid in the center. Klepto the Condor circles the course and attempts to steal your cap if he gets near.
9. Dire, Dire Docks: Another underwater based course where the player can find Bowser's submarine.
10. Snowman's Land: The entire course takes place around and on a large snowman-shaped mountain.
11. Wet-Dry World: This course takes place within flooded ruins, separated into an undeveloped uptown that the player starts in and an underground downtown further into the level.
12. Tall, Tall Mountain: Another mountain course, but without the snow and ice and more emphasis on the platforming.
13. Tiny-Huge Island: There are two paintings that lead to Tiny-Huge Island. The one on the left leads to the "Tiny Island," and the one on the right leads to the "Huge Island," with the painting in the center being decoration. Both islands are laid out the same except for the fact that when you enter "Tiny Island", you are spawned on a small island, and for Huge Island you are on the island, where everything is big.
14. Tick Tock Clock: This course must be entered by hopping into the clock on the top floor. It takes place inside a giant grandfather clock with the player having to navigate around the gears and mechanisms of the clock. Based on when the player jumps into the clock (rounded to the nearest quarter hour), the speeds of the internal clockworks change: Entering when the minute hand is nearest to "12" will make everything stop, entering near "3" will make everything move slowly, entering near "6" will make everything move randomly and change speeds frequently, and entering near "9" will make everything move quickly.
15. Rainbow Ride: This course takes place entirely in the sky with the player having to get around using several Aladdin-esque magic carpets that move along rainbow trails when the player steps onto them. Unfortunately, it's considered the hardest course.

While this game is pretty good about making the stars relatively intuitive to find, other times it's cryptic as to where stars are or how to acquire them.

• The second star on the slide bonus course is only vaguely hinted at on a sign near the start ("If you slide really fast, you'll win the Star!"), and even then it could well be mistaken as just a bit of throwaway text about the first star on that course. Combined with the fact that the best way to meet the time required to spawn the star is to do a flying leap to skip half the course makes it that much worse.
• The game gives you no hint that running around wooden poles five times will spawn five extra coins for you, which is crucial for getting the 100 coin stars. The closest thing is a sign in the large part of Tiny-Huge Island, but it's located on a very small island that isn't easy to reach, and the sign itself only gives an oblique hint; it feigns innocence in the event you get dizzy from running around the wooden pole just nearby.
• Whomp's Fortress, an otherwise straightforward level, has a very well-hidden star that, unless you're aware of it ahead of time, can only be found by trial and error. It's hidden in a breakable piece at the tip of a thin brick wall that you have to launch Mario into via cannon — and it looks no different than any other piece of scenery in the level. While the name of the star's goal is "Blast Away the Wall", finding out which wall to blast at, and which specific part, is completely left to the player to find out. It's even worse in the German version, where the description is instead "Fly into the Blue!". That's right, its description tells you essentially the opposite of what you need to do. That said, the game's view of Whomp's Fortress in the credits does show the star in plain sight if you haven't gotten it yet.
• The secret star inside the pyramid of Shifting Sand Land. Even when you know where to find the five Star Points to reveal it, it's still tricky due to the quicksand that stunts your jumping, and the others are on small floating platforms that are very easy to fall off or miss.
• The Tower of the Wing Cap. The entrance is hidden in the castle hall and your only hint towards its existence is the spotlight in the middle of the room. Unlike other levels, you don't enter it by jumping in, but by zooming in with the camera and looking up.
• Hazy Maze Cave has two notoriously vague Star titles. The first, "Metal Head Mario Can Move!," doesn't give any indication as to what you're supposed to do beyond putting on a Metal Cap, and those are found at nearly every point in the level, including right at the start. You're supposed to use it to activate an underwater switch in the lagoon, but it's possible to completely miss that switch while exploring the cave for the first time. The second, "Watch for Rolling Rocks," tells you that the Star is hidden somewhere in the corridor where you find giant boulders—but there aren't clues as to what you're meant to do or where it might be. You're meant to Wall Kick near the door to the Underground Lake and discover a hidden platform above you, but the camera seems designed to ensure that you don't notice that platform unless you're already looking for it.
• "Wall Kicks Will Work" from Cool, Cool Mountain doesn't tell you where those Wall Kicks are going to work. It's possible to figure it out by process of elimination—as it's the last Star, the only area left to explore is at the very bottom of the mountain—but even then it's a stretch.
• "Five Itty Bitty Secrets" in Tiny-Huge Island, which requires Mario to walk over five specific spots on the island, which aren't marked or hinted at in any way. You just have to wander around aimlessly and hope you stumble upon them.

Due to being an early 3D game and having numerous glitches and design oversights, there are many ways to mess up the game:

• It's actually possible to crash the game just by messing around with the file select screen. Also, you go back to four lives when you reload your save.
• In Bob-omb Battlefield, if you sandwich Mario underneath the level's first bridge and a cork block, the game will crash.
• For some reason, Big Boo's Haunt has a glitch in the room that lets you fall down to the basement that causes the game to crash if you're up against a wall and fall in a certain way.
• If you are unfortunate enough to fill the 100 coins on one of the two slide side-areas (Cool Cool Mountain and Tall Tall Mountain), the star will spawn above your head as usual, but you cannot grab it due to the sliding downwards movement. And once you exit the side area and return, the star will be gone, forcing you to leave the level and collect the 100 coins all over again. Better start with the slide before you do anything else.
• In Tall, Tall Mountain, if you let the Monty Moles throw too many pebbles with Mario standing nearby, the game will run out of memory and crash. This is due to a design oversight — pebbles deactivate when they are more than 4000 units away from Mario. Hence, a deactivated pebble won't hit the ground and unload, but instead just remain invisible and unmoving in midair. So by having Monty Moles continually throw pebbles off the edge, the pebbles will keep loading into object slots but never unload. Since the game only has 240 object slots, eventually all the slots become occupied and the game crashes.
• Due to some oddities in collision, grabbing a star in the exact wrong place can softlock the game by getting Mario stuck in an endless ledge-grab. In practice, this only occurs with 100-coin stars, which spawn just above Mario's head when he collects enough coins — this bug may have been a factor in Super Mario Sunshine changing 100-coin Shine Sprites to spawn in a predetermined position.
• Some of the glitches, however, are actually fun like the infamous Backwards Long Jump, which you can perform on slopes, stairs and elevators, which allows you to skip all the barriers that you normally need stars to get through, famously even the endless staircase at the end which is the 70-Star barrier for the final level, Bowser in the Sky.
• In the N64 version, the game has a glitch known as the backwards long jump which lets you skip the entire game and go straight to the final Bowser battle by doing a long jump on the infinite staircase and then quickly go to the opposite direction while you long jump.

The soundtrack is amazing in that it is considered one of the most iconic in gaming. Also, as for the audio, the sound effects are mostly Sound Ideas' Series 6000 sound effects: https://soundeffects.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Mario_64/Audio_Samples?so=search. The laughing sounds for Boo and Bowser are also in fact the same, albeit in different pitches: https://soundeffects.fandom.com/wiki/Sound_Ideas,_HUMAN,_LAUGH_-_COMICAL_LAUGH:_MALE. The laughter is frequently said to have been performed by Charles Martinet. Speaking of him, this is actually the first main-series Mario game to feature Charles Martinet as our hero. (The year before, he previously voiced the portly plumber in Mario's FUNdamentals. Rumors persist that he also voiced him in both editions of Mario Teaches Typing, but while Martinet did voice Mario in the second one, it was actually Ronald B. Ruben in the first one.) He first tried out a gruff Brooklyn-esque voice, similar to how Mark Graue had voiced Mario in Hotel Mario, but decided it would be too scary for young children, so he instead adapted the familiar perma-falsetto that you hear to this day. Also, Peach speaks in the opening and ending and Bowser gains his distinctive laugh (though he won't actually speak until Super Mario Sunshine). A lot of Mario quotes became famous thanks for this game as "It's-a me, Mario!", "Oki-Doki", "Thank you so much for playing my game", and the most known is the line when Mario throws Bowser, which is considered to be funny since it sounds like "So long, gay Bowser!" when he actually says "So long King-a Bowser!" or "So long eh Bowser!". I always thought it was "Too dumb, ya turkey!" or "Tada, ya turkey!" or To dump, ya turkey!"

Anyway, being one of the very first 3D games made, overall Super Mario 64 is considerably one of the most important video games ever made as it made 3D gaming popular and set many standards for it at the time. Over 25 years later, it is still considered a remarkably good game despite showing its age and suffering flaws many early 3D games had. Now let's go stuff ourselves happy with some super mushrooms!